Avenge Our Love
Translator: translationraven
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Now let’s backtrack to a week and a half ago, to the day Song Yucheng signed Tang Chi on with Picture Domain. It was on that day, too, that Song Yucheng planned to fool Ding Mingcheng’s grandmother.
In his opinion, second-generation heirs like Ding Mingcheng had to be dealt with at the root. If his backers were not backing him up, he was as good as half-dead, and easy to take care of.
Now, though, Ding Mingcheng was hiding behind his uncle, and Song Yucheng could not reach that far. Ding Mingcheng’s uncle was no fool either, and he wouldn’t necessarily believe him. However, his grandmother was superstitious. Based on the information he got from the System, Ding Mingcheng’s grandmother believed in deities and also had the habit of consulting Master fortune-tellers.
That was why Song Yucheng decided to deliver a great Master who best fit the status of the Ding family.
He had the acting talent from Xie Qianchen after all, so it was a piece of cake for him to portray this character though he’d never acted before. Besides, the data in this world was accessible via the System. Lottery numbers, football matches… The System could find the results for all of them. This was how he had the old lady eating out of his hand.
He only had to tell her that a calamity was about to befall Ding Mingcheng, and she’d lock him up.
Of course, having him locked up was not enough. Song Yucheng was going to shake this snake to achieve his goal.
Song Yucheng called right after Ding Mingcheng’s grandmother locked him away.
“Madame, have you secluded him? Why do I sense that your heart is still in unrest?”
“Ay, I worry that this child won’t be kept secluded anymore once his uncle is back.” The old woman was truly worried. Ding Mingcheng was not willing to do this, and his uncle was not a believer of fortunes either. If he insisted on getting Ding Mingcheng out, wouldn’t it be too late if something went wrong?
But Song Yucheng had another trick up his sleeve. “I have a solution for you. Write these locations down on a piece of paper and show it to your son when he comes home. He will understand.”
“Thank you, Master! Oh, thank you!” The old woman thanked him and waited for her son to come home.
Not half an hour later, Ding Mingcheng’s uncle came rushing home. The first thing he said was, “Mum, what are you up to? Why shut Mingcheng away for no reason? Let him out.”
The old woman read out the locations she’d written on the paper, and the expression on Ding Mingcheng’s uncle’s face changed.
“Who told you these?” He was afraid. The three locations were a big secret. One location was where he hid his mistress, and the two other locations were where he hid his money. Not even the people closest to him knew all the details, so how did this old woman know about them?
When he heard that this was from a fortune-teller Master, he found it even stranger and gave Song Yucheng a call right away.
Song Yucheng really was too good at acting. By the end of the call, Ding Mingcheng’s uncle had not proven him a fraud, but was scared silly instead.
“I know everything that you want to ask. However, I shall say this — the Heavens are watching. There is no hiding from the gods.” Song Yucheng modulated the tone of his voice easily, and made himself sound ethereal. This floaty voice, coupled with the knowledge of a long-kept secret, made the hair on the back of Ding Mingcheng’s uncle’s neck prickle.
“What do you want?” Ding Mingcheng’s uncle was brusque.
Song Yucheng laughed. “Don’t be nervous. I divined those locations and I have no evidence. Besides, you’ve hidden them well so you can’t be caught!
I just want to prove that I am not a swindler. Additionally, your nephew Ding Mingcheng is in great danger, and his life could be forfeit if he does not pray sincerely to Buddha. It’s life or death, and it’s in your hands.” Song Yucheng hung up after he said that.
Ding Mingcheng’s uncle made a decision when he put the phone down.
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Ding Mingcheng was going crazy on his end.
He’d thought that he would be released once his uncle came home, but his uncle had given him an ultimatum, telling him to do as he was told.
“Uncle, Granny believes in these things because she’s old, but you too?”
“There’s no disadvantage to being prepared. That Master didn’t ask for money anyway. He’s only telling you to pray, so what’s so bad about it? It’s better than losing your life.” His uncle was stern, as if he really was worried for Ding Mingcheng’s sake, but he was actually worried about the almost-blackmail that Song Yucheng had done.
For a man like him who was used to having things under his control, he was particularly afraid when things were beyond his control. He could not find out anything about Song Yucheng no matter what methods he used, and this deepened his suspicions.
That was why he could only do as Song Yucheng said, for now. His nephew had enjoyed his favour for a long time, so this bit of sacrifice was within reason. He put the phone down with that thought in mind, and told his men to look into this fortune-telling Master. He also told the home security team to check the residence surroundings.
Ding Mingcheng’s uncle was of the opinion that even if Song Yucheng was a divine being, he would have some record of his existence once he set foot on the ground in China. He would find something if he dug deep enough. This man must know a lot about the family because he planted some spying devices here. A search of the residence would turn up hidden cameras and things like that.
The result of the search was: nothing.
“What? Is there really such a powerful fortune-telling Master in this world? Can he divine what I’m going to eat for dinner tonight or something?”
“Surely not!” The subordinate was taken aback.
“I don’t believe it either. The points seem to be stacked in his favour though, and freakishly so.” Ding Mingcheng’s uncle put his phone away, and he grew more unsettled.
He had been in politics for a long time and one thing he knew for sure was that there was always something going on in the background. He was sure that this great Master must have some hidden agenda, just that he hadn’t revealed it yet.
But the sly fox would slip one day.
“Keep investigating! Especially those old farts who are against me. Confirm what they’ve been up to recently! Also tell the ground staff to be on the alert. Keep a low profile for now. Don’t let anyone have an opportunity to grab us by the short and curlies in a time of crisis.”
Ding Mingcheng’s uncle gave orders to his men and called for his driver to send him home. It was not time to rest now. He had a bad feeling about this, and he wouldn’t be able to be at ease if he wasn’t in his own home.
Ding Mingcheng was really suffering without his uncle’s intervention.
His grandmother believed so completely in the great fortune-teller Master that she was just short of putting him on an altar and worshipping him. She was going to follow everything Song Yucheng said, of course.
She made Ding Mingcheng follow Song Yucheng’s instructions to the letter, even when it came to food.
Poor Ding Mingcheng had horrible meals that week. How bad? The buns he bit into had no flavour, and they were so dry they stuck to the insides of his throat when he swallowed. As for the vegetables… Only a smidgen of salt had been added after the vegetables were blanched. If it hadn’t been for the skill of the chef, and the clean water the vegetables had been blanched with, Ding Mingcheng would have thought it no better than pig feed.
What was worse was his progress in copying out scripture. HIs grandmother actually came in to check how much he’d done every hour. It seemed he would get no rest out of the 24 hours he spent sleeping, eating, or copying the sutra. He did not even have a midday break. He had to write once his eyes were open, and his brain was flooded with ‘Ambitabha’ when he shut his eyes.
“Granny, no! This is too much! Give me the phone! I’ll ask that great Master what this will accomplish.” Ding Mingcheng was going mad. He’d only endured two days of this but it already felt like a lifetime.
But his protest immediately triggered a reaction from his grandmother. She cried that Dong Mingcheng was not being a good grandson, and that she was going to get his uncle to talk to him.
He was screwed. There was no way out. He had to copy those sutras whether he liked it or not. Ding Mingcheng cursed Song Yucheng silently.
When the fifth day came around, he’d lost a lot of weight and wasn’t looking in good shape.
Any living person would be screwed too, if put through the same thing. Ding Mingcheng had been pampered all his life, so this experience was worse than going to prison for him.
He was counting down the time in seconds on the last time. He’d decided that he was going to get all the information he could on this damned Master fortune-teller when he got out, and he would make this guy’s life hell!
Ding Mingcheng wrote the last stroke of his pen with that thought in mind, and was finally free. His grandmother did not stop him because he had completed what the Master instructed, and she happily let him go.